Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb (4 November 1618-3 March 1707) was the last of the great emperors of the Mughal Empire, reigning from 1666 to 1707. A devout and uneducated tyrant, he was an army enthusiast who fought many wars against the rising Maratha Confederacy to the south.

Biography
The last of the great Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb had to fight for his throne and continued fighting for most of his long reign. His career as a military commander began under his father, Shah Jahan, who gave him the task of resisting pressure from the Iranian Safavid Empire – by forcing its way into Afghanistan. Although his campaigns there were not a success, they did prepare Aurangzeb for the power struggle that broke out between himself and his three brothers when Jahan became ill in 1657. Aurangzeb’s defeat of his father’s favorite son, Dara, at Samugarh in May 1658, was the triumph of an experienced general over a novice. Outmaneuvered and outfought, Aurangzeb’s siblings were destroyed one by one, leaving him to inherit the throne unopposed on Jahan’s death in 1666.

Territorial Expansion
With the full resources of the empire at his disposal, Aurangzeb campaigned tirelessly to extend its borders and to suppress internal revolts, of which there were many. These were in part provoked by his Muslim zeal, which led to a policy of intolerance towards the Hindu population. In 1670, the Hindu Marathas of the Deccan went to war with Aurangzeb under their leader, Shivaji. After two decades of fighting, the Moguls reestablished a measure of control over the region, but it was never complete.

At the close of the 17th century, Aurangzeb could point to the extent of his empire as a measure of success. No previous ruler had come so close to ruling the entire subcontinent. But constant war left a trail of destruction and exhausted the empire’s finances, without winning the allegiance of many of his subjects.